Almost 4 Months Old

I can’t believe another month has past and I’m just now updating Payton’s blog.  Maybe I should just succumb to the fact that I’ll only find the time to update this thing once a month.  Thankfully Charles did load some cute videos of Payton so you were able to see her roll over and play with rings.

So many toys so little time! (12 weeks, 6 days old)

The third week of January I took Payton to Santa Fe to meet some of my friends at Barnett Intermediate.  Unfortunately our trip there caused her to miss out on her afternoon nap and she ended up screaming the entire time we were there.  As a result, I didn’t get to introduce her to all the teachers that I wanted to see and the ones she did get to meet only got to see her screaming.  I guess I will need to find another time to take her back to the school….. hopefully a time when she is nice and well rested.  She literally screamed so hard that her legs turned bright red like she had a bad sunburn and then later when her legs returned to their normal color, there were little purple marks left on her legs.  She had screamed so hard she had popped little blood vessels in her legs.  Poor baby!  This is part of why I am now hesitant to take her out…. especially if it might interfere with her sleep. 

Tummy time on the boppy (13 weeks old)

One thing I didn’t expect before having Payton was how much, even as an infant, she would make me laugh.  The things she does and her facial expressions are just so funny.  Like how she likes to suck both thumbs at the same time.  I mean why just suck one thumb when you have two, right?  Or how if I lay her on her stomach she starts crying but the second she rolls over (or I roll her over if she forgets how to do it herself) she stops crying and is perfectly happy.  Or how I might say something that wasn’t meant to be funny but she will get a huge grin on her face and look as if she is silently laughing (she hasn’t learned to laugh yet).  I asked Charles what Payton does that makes him laugh and he mentioned the “double thumb action” and that it makes him laugh every time she farts or burps.  Typical guy! Haha  

Payton sucking 2 thumbs at one time (14 weeks old)

Nap times are still a bit of a struggle for us.  She falls sound asleep around 7:30 p.m. each night and sleeps the entire night in her crib without a problem (minus waking up to eat), but try putting her in her crib for a nap and she immediately starts crying.  I’ve been trying to make her stay there for an hour during her morning nap time, hoping that eventually she’ll get used to it but she has yet to once sleep during that time.  Mostly she fusses and once the hour is up I put her in her swing and she falls sound asleep.  I believe some fussing and frustration in trying to get used to the crib is normal, but I am not going to leave her there crying for hours on end.  Really I am just so thankful that she sleeps so well at night and I feel like the naps will eventually work themselves out too.

Sound asleep for a nap in her swing (13 weeks old)

As you can see from the video Charles posted, on January 21, 2011, Payton learned to roll from her tummy to her back.  It was first thing in the morning and I always try to make her have a little “tummy time” each day.  According to the doctor, tummy time helps them build up neck strength and although she doesn’t like it, I’m supposed to put her on her tummy for at least a few minutes at a time each day.  Well that particular morning, almost as soon as I lay her on her tummy, she rolled over onto her back.  I couldn’t believe it!  So I put her back onto her tummy and watched her do it again.  We did this 6 times in a row and I was practically screaming I was so excited.  Payton seemed unimpressed and started getting a little frustrated that I kept putting her back onto her tummy.  I then grabbed the video camera and filmed her rolling over a couple more times.  By that time she had had enough so we snuggled in bed and read some books instead (after I posted the exciting news on Facebook first, of course.)  When Charles came home she wouldn’t roll over but she finally showed him her new trick right before bath time.  Since that day, Payton sometimes rolls over and sometimes just lays there crying until I help her roll over.

Surfer girl smiling for the camera (14 weeks old)

On Saturday, January 29, 2011, we watched online as my brother Albert got married in Los Vegas.  We are so excited to have Erin as our sister-in-law and as Payton’s aunt!  She looked absolutely gorgeous at the wedding and Albert looked good too.  We’re very happy for them and for their son Hank.  He is a lucky little boy to have such wonderful parents.

Chewing on her dolly (14 weeks old)

Last week we had some interesting weather here and really across the state of Texas.  There were reports that we might get snow and we were so hopeful but instead Galveston and Houston received freezing rain.  Thursday night the streets iced over and I heard on the news that there were over 700 accidents in Houston on Friday!  Even the Galveston Causeway iced over and there were several accidents before the police blocked it off and only let one car cross at a time.  I was thankful that Charles stayed home from work so I didn’t have to worry about him being on the roads.  We were planning on spending the weekend in Dallas but Dallas ended up getting half a foot of snow on top of snow and ice that they received earlier in the week!  So instead we stayed home, tried to keep warm, and watched the Super Bowl.

Sitting up in her bumbo seat (13 weeks old)

This week we put Payton in her Jenny Jump Up for the first time.  She doesn’t realize that she can jump/bounce around in it yet, but she does like sitting in it.  She is still unable to sit up on her own but she has gotten where she doesn’t care to play lying on her back anymore.  Which means she is really in favor of something like the Jenny Jump Up that allows her to spend time in an upright position.  She has really good neck strength and her legs are getting stronger too.  She also loves to sit in my lap now when playing with her toys or when reading books.  

Payton in her Jenny Jump Up (16 weeks old)

Yesterday I held Payton up so that she could see herself in the mirror and for really the first time, she noticed her reflection.  She kept smiling at herself and she’d reach out her hands to touch the mirror.  It was very cute!  

It's cold outside but Payton gets rosy cheeked and warm when playing (15 weeks old)

Next Tuesday Payton will turn four months old.  Her doctor’s appointment and vaccinations will be on Wednesday.  It’s hard to believe how much she has grown in just four months.  It has been a wonderful four months and it doesn’t seem possible but our love for her just continues to grow.  She has definitely stolen our hearts!

We love this little girl! (15 weeks old)